AGNOMAKHOS

by Ulquiorra9000

Chapter 16

"Ooooooohhh..."

Olivia groaned and slowly sat up, and Kulla reached out and took her left hand in his. "Take it easy," he told her. "You've been through a lot." He sat on a stool next to her bed.

"Where am I?"

"The Army hospital. You've been here for three days," Kulla said. Around him, hoplites and mages lay in beds like Olivia's (including Pierra), and medical mages and surgeons tended to them as needed. Not even the sunlight coming through the windows could make Kulla feel any better about this, though. His adopted sister lay injured, helpless.

"Oh." Olivia sighed, her chest covered in bandages. Then, she looked at her right shoulder and winced. "Kulla, my arm... look..."

Kulla gently pressed Olivia back down, worried. "Stop it. You'll only make it worse."

"My arm! Kulla, my arm..." Olivia gingerly touched her amputated shoulder with her left arm, feeling the bandaged spot where her arm used to be. Now, there was nothing, a grim reminder of the rebels' strength. Tears welled in Olivia's eyes. "I can't b-believe this h-happened."

Kulla's heart raced in fury. He had received a report about Olivia's injury, to be sure, but to see it in person... "Who did it? Can you tell me?"

"H-his name was Argryos. Used an enchanted s-sword..."

Kulla balled his hands into fists. "I'll make sure that this Argryos is killed for what he did to you."

Olivia smiled weakly. "Are you sure? He was pretty tough... I wouldn't want this to happen to you, too." Her chest heaved.

"When my family took you in, I swore that you'd never come to harm," Kulla reminded her. He vividly remembered that day, and guild swept through him. How could I let this happen? I'm her colonel! I'm her adopted brother! "I failed you." He lowered his gaze, diminished.

"At least you're okay," Olivia said feebly. "I wouldn't want to lose you."

"Me!" Kulla shook his head. "It's a colonel's duty to lay down his life if need be for his cause and his subordinates. It's not you who should have paid the price for all this."

"But what would First Battalion do without you? What would I do without you, Kulla?"

Kulla opened his mouth to retort but closed it. He swallowed. "Maybe I'm being selfish."

"Just a little."

"I'm sorry." Kulla glanced at the other patients, then said: "It should also be noted that Alex, that mage from fifth platoon, is a confirmed member of Agnomakhos. He led a group of rebels during the battle and confronted Pierra."

Olivia blinked. "What?"

"Alex and the rebels inflicted serious injuries to Pierra and damaged her mana. She'll need weeks of recovery, but she'll live. She's over there." He pointed.

"Something's got to be done about that, huh?"

"Yes. I need to make an example of Alex." Kulla's eyes spat fire. "He should be terminated. He's dangerous, and could provoke more Army members into defecting."

"No!" Olivia sat up again, clearly agitated. "The mercenaries we can kill, but the others are our civilians, and they're misguided, like Alex. We just have to subdue them. Ephara and Heliod are watching over us. They'll give us a way."

Kulla heaved a breath. "Perhaps. I trust in the gods, but sometimes, they require us to find our own solutions."

"Alex is my friend. Please don't kill him."

"All right. I won't kill him. But you need to relax." Kulla eased Olivia back down into her bed and added, "I should mention that if you want an honorable discharge, I can make sure it goes through and that you're provided for in civilian life. Or if you want to stay in the Reverent Army, I'll accept that. And I'll be by your side, no matter what happens."

"Always the noble one," Olivia said, her watery smile returning. "You never change, Kulla. I'm not a little girl anymore, though. I can still fight. I can use my other arm almost as well as my right. I can -"

"Okay, I understand." Kulla smiled, but it was a bit forced. Olivia was always the one to laugh something off, not him. He didn't want her to see the ugly rage and killing intent he felt right now. "The next time we battle the rebellion, I'll trust you to defend our city and the council, just like you swore when you graduated the academy. And together, we'll end the civil war for good."

Olivia rested her head on her pillow and closed her eyes. "Okay. See you on the battlefield."

Marveling at Olivia's fortitude, Kulla got up and strode out of the room. The medical mages and surgeons bowed slightly as he passed, but he didn't feel like a famed hero at the moment. Right now, he was just a man who, for the first time in years, felt a slight twinge of doubt.

*o*o*o*o*

"Well done, all of you."

Valerie smiled wearily as Alex, Elsa, Estello, Lakram, and Argyros gathered in her office in the rebel warehouse. Maps and papers covered the desk.

"Not quite. That colonel with the white mana escaped," Estello growled. She clenched her fists, blue and black mana oozing from between her fingers. "I was so close! No one's ever fought me like that before."

Valerie nodded. "Kulla, the colonel of First Battalion. I don't blame you; he's a tough one, and arguably the most powerful man in the Reverent Army, by what Alex told me. You'll get your chance to kill him soon, don't worry."

"Are we close to our final attack?" Argyros asked eagerly. "I mean, the Reverent Army won't be vulnerable for long."

Alex had to agree with Argryos' haste. He knew how skilled the Army's medical mages and surgeons were, plus the backup units and the strength of the remaining colonels. Even with Pierra out of action, the other leaders were worth an entire platoon each.

"That's my reasoning, too," Valerie told him. "The Army is off-balance and injured, and it's time to deliver the killing blow! My project is nearly complete, and once the final pieces are installed, we will march to the city hall's front doors."

Valerie gestured to dismiss everyone except Alex. As Elsa turned to leave, Alex stopped her. "That was a neat trick with the oracles," he complimented her. "I didn't know you could do that."

Elsa nodded slightly, her creepy eyes fixed on Alex's face. "It's just one of my many skills, Alex. I'd never let the oracles find our real base. And with Jaina out on a fool's errand, slaying the Army's leaders became that much easier."

Valerie definitely surrounded herself with the right people, Alex marveled. It gave him hope. "Can you do it again for our next battle?"

"Yes. The oracles will try to predict our invasion route, and I intend to show them something else. The Army will not be prepared."

Alex grinned. "That's great."

Without a word, Elsa left the room and snapped the door shut behind her.

"So, uh... what do you need from me?" Alex turned and faced his sister. Up close, he saw how tired she looked, including dark bags under her eyes, not unlike Kulla. No. Valerie's nothing like him!

"I've got an errand for you, Alex," Valerie told him. She slid a blueprint toward him on the desk. "See this?"

Alex picked up the blueprint and looked it over. His eyes widened. "Whoa."

Valerie nodded. "It's nearly complete, but the mana collection dish prototype was faulty, and Dakly recently reported that a new model is finished. He sent me a messenger bird about it this morning."

"A mana what?"

"It's a delicately-built mirror that's enchanted to absorb spells and focus them into a single beam that's projected from the back," Valerie explained. "Like how a lens collects light and focuses it to create a larger image. Dakly, my chief engineer, comissioned another workshop to build this dish, but there's been a lot more Army activity in the area recently. I need you and some warriors to escort the completed dish to Dakly's workshop. His men will install the dish into the machine."

Alex looked at the blueprints again. The machine displayed there would definitely give Agnomakhos an edge over the Army, but the colonels were not to be taken lightly. They'd find a way to neutralize it eventually, but Alex didn't want to criticize Valerie's pet project. "I'll make sure it gets there safely. I'm guessing that once the machine is finished and moved to the city walls, we'll start the assault?"

"That's right. You're dismissed. Good luck out there, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks."

*o*o*o*o*

"Ephara, god of the polis, hear me."

Jaina felt her stomach churn with anxiety as she knelt in the First Battalion's barracks' temple room. The room dimmed and the regal polis god appeared as usual, but something was wrong. Ephara's radiant blue and white light flickered and dimmed, and darkness swirled inside her like poison.

Ephara winced, an unusual show of weakness from a god. "Jaina, sun champion. I hear you."

"Great god of the polis, guide me. I am lost. Heliod cannot show me the true way; he is blinded," Jaina said urgently. "Some dark power has taken hold of him and taken root here in this city, and who better than you to fight back? We must act now, before our city is lost. Even the council of Twelve has abandoned me."

"I... Jaina, I cannot!" Ephara grunted. She yelped and clutched her face with her hands. Around her, dark purple tendrils of mana flashed and snapped, and Ephara recoiled with every jolt. "It is here... it is here, the dark power! I cannot see! I cannot make it stop!"

Jaina fought the urge to rise and flee. She felt a sudden chill sweep the room, filling her with dread. "Ephara, we need each other! The council has lost its way and the other Army officers are too stubborn to see it. I am the champion of this city, but if no one stands with me, what am I to do?"

"I do not know," Ephara moaned. She shrank back into the nebulae of Nyx. "A great conflict is coming, but there is nothing I can do!" The purple jolts intensified, their sizzling and snapping deafening to Jaina's ears.

Jaina sighed. "I am truly sorry to hear that, mighty god. I swear to you and to Heliod and all the gods that I will find this evil and root it out! Even if I have to do it alone!"

"H-have st-strength, Jaina," Ephara sputtered. Her voice and image distorted and twisted, fading from view. "F-f-for this g-great city..." And she was gone.

The darkness lifted and Jaina sprang to her feet, heart racing. This wasn't at all what she expected, but one thing was clear: Meletis' fate would be decided soon. And I'll be damned if I'm on the losing side!